Small World
by LockedSoulsAM
Summary: Rachel is a sophomore in high school. She already has to deal with boys, acne, and tests. Her life becomes a little crazier when she has to worry about her mother possibly having cancer, her biological father trying to contact her and strange memories she's sure she never lived. Sequel to Little Girl Lost
1. Chapter 1

**Small World**

 **By LockedSoulsAM**

 **A/n: Finally, the sequel I've been promising but procrastinating. I hope you all enjoy. I have also been going back to revise and edit a few minor things for LGL. Listen, I still cringe reading it but I'm not as embarrassed by it three years later lol.**

 **I hope this story shows you all how far I have come with my writing skills.**

 **11 years have passed in the story. Rachel is fourteen years old and quickly approaching her fifteenth birthday. Shelby and Joseph got married shortly after the last chapter of LGL. In the years to come came two more babies via surrogate. There is no need to read LGL but cheers if you do.**

 **Hope you enjoy =)**

 **Chapter 1**

 _"_ _I remember that night, I just might_

 _Regret that night for the rest of my days,_

 _I remember those soldier boys_

 _Tripping over themselves to win our praise,_

 _I remember that dreamlike candlelight_

 _Like a dream that you can't quite place,_

 _But Alexander, I'll never forget the first_

 _Time I saw your face"_

Rachel belted out her favorite Hamilton song as she applied mascara to her lashes. She wiggled her hips and let out another note. It was the last day of summer and that meant the end of summer pool party at Santana's. It was a good 80 degrees outside and she couldn't wait to swim. After camp, a weeklong trip with her grandparents, dance recitals, and summer school, Rachel was left with little time to see her long time best friends; Which her friends understood more than they probably should have. Rachel was a busy teen during summers. It was exactly how she liked it.

She stopped fixing her makeup to check her phone. She scrolled through messages from her group chat in hopes of catching up with the conversation. It proved pointless and in the end, she didn't have enough time. Rachel wasn't as popular at school as Quinn or Santana, but she had a pretty good circle. There were different texts from many different people when she realized she had an audience. Her younger sister, Brooke, was sitting in the hallway against a wall. Brooke's green eyes met her brown. Like a deer in headlights, Brooke was caught.

"What are you doing?" Rachel laid a hand on her hip. Brooke stood and rubbed the back of her neck in nervousness, much like the way their dad did. She was almost the same height as Rachel and would probably grow taller in the upcoming years.

"How do you do your eyes like that?" She asked. At ten, Brooke was always fascinated with whatever Rachel did. She would watch in fascination whenever Rachel allowed her.

Rachel looked at herself in the mirror and then back to Brooke. She figured she had plenty of time to do a little more.

"Sit down and I'll show you," Rachel instructed. Brooke beamed and immediately did as she was told. She sat tall with her hands on her lap in preparation. Rachel quickly, but diligently, applied mascara and blush to her sister's eyes and face.

Shelby was walking down the hallway when she thought her eyes were deceiving her. She stopped in her tracks at the sight of both her daughters getting along. It wasn't every day that she got to see such a view.

"Well, would you look at that." Shelby grinned. "Sisterly bonding from my favorite daughters."

"We're your only daughters, Ma." Rachel scoffed. "Besides, I can be nice."

"Oh, I know you can," Shelby replied.

"Rachel, did my makeup, Mama." Brooke showed off her newly done up face.

"I love it." Shelby praised. "Is San coming to get you or am I dropping you off?"

"Aunt Judy let Quinn have the car tonight." Rachel said. She turned to finish her own makeup. She had less than a half hour to get dressed. Since her cousin was a year older and therefore got her permit first, Rachel got to reap the benefits of Quinn's driving.

"That scares me to no end." Shelby worried. "I can't believe you all are driving and going to high school parties. It was just yesterday that I was taking you to preschool."

"Mama, are you going to cry?" Brooke giggled.

"No, I'm not." Shelby motioned to her daughter. "Let's go check on your brother and make sure he's not coloring on my walls."

Rachel watched her mother and sister leave to search for her three-year-old brother Derek. He was a rambunctious little boy and almost always in trouble. She decided in that moment to facetime her best friend. The phone rang twice before Santana picked up.

"Yo, Corcoran, where the hell are you?" Santana's eyes widened before she asked. "Is mi Tia around?"

"No, she just went downstairs." Rachel chuckled at San's wariness.

"Great," Santana spoke into her phone. "Anyways, what's the holdup? You're supposed to be here already."

"Tana, I'm not even dressed." Rachel stepped farther away from her phone to show off what she was wearing. "Quinn is probably on her way."

"Well, the longer you take, the less time you have to party." Santana shrugged. "Boys and bikinis."

"I'll see you in thirty?"

"Yeah, sweet cheeks, hurry up." Santana hung up.

Rachel sighed before looking at the time. She really should try to quicken her steps. Rachel was ready in twenty minutes with a romper over her bikini and sandals in hand. She could hear Quinn downstairs talking to Derek when she reached the top of her steps.

"Quinnie, when are you going to come over and spend the night?" Derek pouted. His floppy blond hair fluttered as he bats his lashes up at her. Derek always enjoyed Quinn's presence when she came over.

"Maybe when I get settled into a routine at school I will come over and spend some extra time with you." Quinn kissed his head. "Does that sound okay?"

Derek nodded and rushed over to sit in his mom's lap. Rachel kissed her mom on the cheek and quickly waved goodbye. She did not want to receive a lecture right now. It used to happen before every party they went to but Shelby had become more lenient over the years.

"You girls behave and be safe," Shelby called after them. She was worried but knew Maribel and Santiago would watch over the girls.

"Hey Rach." Quinn bumped her shoulder. "Are you ready to find your future bae at the party?"

"As long as you are." Rachel teased. "I know Noah Puckerman is going to be there." Yes, it was that Noah Puckerman. The same boy that would pick on her in preschool. He'd grown up to be her protector over the years and one of her cool friends. His sister and Brooke often played together.

"I do not like him," Quinn argued. Rachel scoffed before slipping inside of the car. Quinn would have to be more convincing than that. Quinn had the car started and music blasting by the time they reached the corner of her street.

The drive to Santana's house was only twenty minutes. Rachel shot Shelby a text saying they had made it safely. Rachel checked her makeup one last time. When she was satisfied that she looked okay she followed Quinn into San's house.

"Hi, Aunt Mari." Rachel greeted first. Maribel and Santiago Lopez were sitting in their kitchen chatting to each other. "Hi, Uncle Santi."

"Hello, girls, how are you?" Maribel stood to give both of her nieces a kiss on the cheek. "Santana is out back with everyone else. You can go on back."

They didn't need to be told which way. They'd been there many times before. Beyoncé was blaring on the radio when they reached the backyard. Santana was sunbathing in a lawn chair while simultaneously eating Cheetos from a bowl. Rachel recognized Mercedes, Brittany and a girl named Tina was already there. A bunch of girls from the Cheerios were in attendance along with guys from a football team. It was a decent sized party and Rachel knew if San's parents weren't there that it would be even bigger.

Waving at her other friends, Rachel pounced on Santana's lawn chair and cuddled into her.

"Hi, Tana."

"Rach!" Santana almost choked on her Cheeto. "I could have died."

"And you all say I'm the dramatic one." Rachel chuckled. She sat up straddle Santana. "You rushed for me to get here and now here I am. Did you miss me"."

Santana pushed up so that she was leaning on her elbows. "Eh."

"The girl missed you, Diva." Mercedes piped up. "She was miserable here without you. I mean Brittany and I tried to keep her company but nothing compares to her best friend Rachel."

"That's only half true," Santana said. At the notice of Quinn, Santana grinned evilly. Quinn saw the look and could only guess what she was about to do. "Hey, Puck!"

Quinn's eyes widened and she shook her head. "Santana, no, oh, I hate you so much!" Quinn hid her face in her hands.

"Ohhh, he's coming over here." Rachel spotted Noah over with a group of boys playing catch with a football.

"Did I miss something?" Brittany asked. "Does Quinn have a crush on Puck?"

"It's only obvious to the rest of the world." Santana grinned.

"What's up ladies?" Puck approached the group of girls. "How was your summer my Jewish American Princess? Santana here was miserable without you."

"It was not!" Santana protested. "I have a life outside of Short Stack contrary to widespread belief."

"It was great, Noah, thanks for asking." Rachel decided to join in on Santana's plot. "Quinn also had a great summer. She was visiting Frannie at NYU."

Quinn removed her face from her hands to glare at her cousin.

"That's pretty awesome." Puck turned his attention to Quinn. "Did you, uh, meet anyone special there?"

"Oh, no, of course not." Quinn blushed. "It was just a sister's trip."

Rachel wondered how it would be to date. She wasn't allowed to technically date until she was sixteen. With her 15th birthday in four months she had an entire year to go over her options. Though she was sure her parents would give in sooner. There wasn't really anyone she had her eye on so that helped a lot.

"Do you want to come and help bring food out for everyone?" Puck offered.

"Sure." Quinn took his hand and let herself be lead into the house.

"Alright, Rach, as much as I love you," Santana began. "You're not exactly the lightest thing on the earth. Do you mind, I don't know, moving?"

Rachel slipped from Santana's lap to sit beside her.

"Have you guys heard about the new glee club at school?" Mercedes started up a new conversation.

Rachel sat up a little straighter.

"I think Mister Schuster the Spanish teacher is going to be leading it."

"I have to audition." Rachel decided. She would have to figure out how she would be able to fit that in between gymnastics, ballet, and AP classes and maintain a life but she could figure it out.

"It's why I mentioned it." Mercedes pointed out. "Of course, our favorite singer is going to tear it up!"

Rachel was already off in her own world as she tried to figure out what song to sing at auditions. This school year was going to be insane.

* * *

"Is he almost asleep?" Joseph asked as he stepped into Derek's bedroom. A cornering lamp shed light around the entire room. Shelby was reading him a bedtime story as she rocked him.

"Yeah, he's had a long day." Shelby leaned up to give a kiss. "How was work?"

"Work." He sighed. "Where are the girls?"

"Brooke is in her room probably watching Korean drama." Shelby chuckled. "Rachel is at San's for a party. She most likely will be staying over."

"That leaves us a night of relaxation before the hectic days of the school year?" Joseph ran his fingers through Derek's hair.

"It does." Shelby smiled softly. "Though, I am not ready for this little one to go off to school yet."

"He will be fine."

"I've done it twice before." Shelby reminded herself. "Although it never gets easier."

"I think it does when you have that ten minutes after you've dropped them off to yourself. "He joked. She snorted and looked back down to their son. They'd come so far in the past few years it was amazing.

"Is it selfish of me to say I miss the days when Rachel was this small?" Shelby asked. "We'd made so many memories to outweigh the bad ones. She's grown into such a beautiful and intelligent young girl. I just miss being able to hold her and take care of her."

"I don't think it's selfish at all." Joseph took Derek into his arms. "How about we put this guy to sleep and cry over their baby pictures eh?"

"That sounds lovely." Shelby took that into consideration. It would certainly be a great ending to their night.

One Derek was all tucked in they both checked up on Brooke next. She was fast asleep in her own bed with a pillow clutched to her stomach. Shelby sent once last text to Rachel for good night and headed to bed herself. They pulled out the baby pictures of each of their kids and shared memories together.

Shelby could remember first bringing Rachel home. How afraid she was, how curious she was, and how much of a joy she was. Rachel had been the constant light in her life along with the new additions to their family. Her baby was growing up and Shelby couldn't help but feel a sense of melancholy.

A/n: So, this was the long awaited first chapter. Should I continue or delete it and forget it ever happened?

-LSAM


	2. Chapter 2

Small World

A/n: Seeing all your usernames in my email again makes me so happy. I recognize almost each one.

I also changed Brooke's age to ten years old instead of eleven.

Enjoy =)

Chapter 2

"Rachel, Rachel, honey, it's time to wake up." Shelby gently shook Rachel awake. The first day of school was always the hardest. She would have to wake each of her children while somehow finding time to get herself ready and cook breakfast. Today though, she already had a head start and things were going smoothly.

"Mama, I don't want to go to school," Rachel mumbled while trying to hide her face deeper under the covers. It was technically still summer but she couldn't spend one night without covers. Shelby gave a small smile at hearing Rachel call her "mama". It had been years since Rachel consciously did it. She would still slip up in moments like these where she was incredibly tired or upset. Long gone were the days where Rachel would willingly let it slip past her lips.

"Well, Tink, I don't think that's an option." Shelby rubbed a lump of covers. She assumed it was Rachel's arm but she couldn't be too sure. "I'm giving you five minutes to be up and out of this bed. You have a whole half hour to shower and be ready before your siblings. Use it wisely."

Rachel poked her head from the covers to look at her mother. Shelby gave her a raised brow in return. With one final pat to Rachel's bottom, she left the room.

Rachel pouted and groaned as she did the bare minimum to remove her legs from under her nice cocoon. She despised waking up early. Never mind the fact that she'd been to bed at a reasonable time last night, she hated having to wake up so early. Six am wake up calls were not her thing and she would much rather be getting her beauty rest. Taking deep breaths, Rachel tried not to fall back into her precious dream world where she dreamed about Broadway and Jesse Williams.

With a final sigh, she lifted her upper body to sit. She looked over to her desk where her school outfit was waiting. Rachel considered her style more preppy and casual. She'd chosen a sleeveless denim button up with a chestnut brown skirt and hazel nut loafers. She thought it matched well. Looking over to her clock, she had twenty-five minutes before Derek and Brooke would be awake. If she wanted to savor the quiet then she should get ready now.

"Is Rachel taking a lunch this year?" Joseph peeked inside of the fridge. He was more than happy not to work today. Since making detective a year ago, his work schedule was sporadic. He was always on call and working long hours. This caused him to miss many events in the children's lives. Luck had worked this year and he was able to be home for their first day of school.

"I think so." Shelby poured batter into the waffle maker. The rest of the family would be eating pancakes but of course, Rachel refused to eat them. It took Shelby no time to make the extra waffles. "Brooke will be and Derek's school will be providing him lunch. Though it's debatable on if I want him eating what they serve."

"School lunch is semi-healthy, right?" Joseph busied himself with making the girls' lunch. While it was Rachel's first day of sophomore year, today was Brooke's first day of fifth grade. He couldn't believe how fast his children were growing.

"Can pigs fly?" Shelby snorted. Joseph shook his head but said nothing. He supported Shelby's efforts in getting the kids to eat healthier. Having a child in preschool was difficult in terms of keeping them on their proper diets. That's why she was more lenient during the school year. "Would you like to go wake them while I finish up?"

While the eggs were cooking, Shelby took over lunch making. She picked Rachel's lunch bag first and then Brooke's. She could pack quickly with their chicken salad sandwiches already made along with oatmeal raisin bars. Once each bag was full she stepped back over to the stove.

"Good morning, Princess." Joseph stepped into the bathroom where Rachel was braiding her hair. "You look very beautiful." He left a kiss on Rachel's head.

"Thank you, Daddy." Rachel grinned. "Are you going to wake up the kids?"

"Yeah, your mom put me on kid duty this morning." He said. "How difficult will this be?"

"I wouldn't say difficult per say." Rachel tilted her head. "Nonetheless, I don't imagine it will be very easy. Derek sleeps like he works twelve-hour days. Brooke is probably awake but reading in her bed waiting for someone to tell her to get ready."

"Nonetheless?" Joseph teased. He tapped Rachel's shoulder. "When did you get so smart and start speaking all fancy?"

"Daddy, if that's fancy I would hate for you to attend one of Aunt Judy's debutante balls," Rachel added a rubber band to the end of her braid and set about on doing her makeup. She would rather not put so much effort into going to school but it was the first day. First impressions meant everything.

"Don't count it on ever happening." Joseph shook his head. "I don't know who to tackle first but I better do it before your mom sends out a search party for us."

Rachel made a noise of acknowledgment but could offer nothing more in fear of messing up her eyeliner.

Once she was all dressed she stepped downstairs for a few extra minutes with her mom. Shelby was standing against the counter with a mug in her hand. She was looking down at her iPad, probably scheduling Vocal Adrenaline practice, Rachel figured. Vocal Adrenaline was Carmel High's glee club. The team was a very popular glee club in Ohio and Rachel admired them. She attended William McKinley High which was the local high school.

"Hi, mom." Rachel squeezed her way between Shelby and the counter. She rested her head on Shelby's chest and sighed. Shelby set down her mug and iPad to wrap her arms around Rachel's tiny frame.

"Hi, my sweet girl." Shelby buried her nose into Rachel's hair. It smelled like vanilla and a hint of strawberry. A lot like her shampoo that Rachel had stolen from her bathroom. Shelby didn't comment in fear of ruining the moment. "Are you hungry?"

"Are you kidding me? I'm starving," Rachel mumbled.

"It's a good thing I cooked. Everything is almost done. Go ahead and set the table."

Rachel did as she was told and set the table. She hummed lowly to herself and only stopped at the sound of footsteps. Her siblings were ready and awake.

"Good Mornin'." Derek jumped from the last step into the kitchen. He was already dressed and his shaggy hair just barely reached his eyebrows. He hurried to give Rachel a kiss first. She kneeled to let him kiss her cheek before he ran over to Shelby.

"Why does he always have so much energy?" Rachel thought as she watched Derek animatedly tell Shelby about the dream he had the night before.

Brooke trickled down the stairs next followed by Joseph. They all moved to sit at the table. Brooke greeted them quietly before digging into her plate.

"So, Mercedes told me there would be a Glee club this year at school." Rachel started off. She loved to initiate a conversation between her family in any way that she could. "I was wondering if I had permission to join? I already have an audition song picked out that will show my entire vocal range quite effectively."

With Rachel's excitement, neither parent could find it in themselves to say no.

"Of course." Shelby took a sip of her coffee. Rachel clapped in excitement before taking a bite of her waffles.

"Mama, can I join da Glee club too?" Derek furrowed his brows. If Rachel got to join, it was only fair that he did too.

"When you're a little older, buddy."

"How much older? I'm three right now." Derek held up his fingers. Rachel rolled her eyes and smiled. Derek didn't even like to sing.

"When you're in high school like Rachel."

Rachel zoned out for the rest of breakfast. She could not wait to audition for this potential Glee club at school. She ate the rest of her breakfast in peace as her family chatted. She needed to text Santana asap, even if they were going to be seeing each other in less than an hour. Once she was done with her breakfast, she ran up to her room to slip on her shoes and grab her backpack.

She took one last look in the mirror and went to wait in the living room for the rest of her family. She wasn't surprised when she saw Brooke sitting on the couch. She took one look at her sister's outfit before her eyes widened.

"Is that my shirt?"

"What?" Brooke looked down at her shirt and then back to Rachel. "You let me have this shirt remember?"

"I don't recall." Rachel narrowed her eyes. She could have sworn the shirt was in her closet just yesterday. Just because she was small didn't mean she wanted to share clothes with her younger sister. "Go change, give it back."

"Rachel, come on you let me keep it," Brooke said.

"No, you did not ask for permission to wear my shirt." Rachel crossed her arms. "Mom, would not appreciate you lying either. Neither do I."

"You're so annoying." Brooke stood up. She huffed loudly and stomped her way back up the stairs. "It makes you look fat anyway," Brooke yelled back down the stairs.

"It's still mine," Rachel shouted back.

Shelby entered the living room to see what all the commotion was about. Surely, on the first day of school, her children were getting along. Rachel had the decency to look guilty for shouting. Shelby decided to pick her battles and chose not to say anything this time.

After the shirt debacle, Rachel and her siblings were finally dropped off at school. Rachel stepped into McKinley with her head held high as she marched straight to her new locker. It took her some time to find but she quickly stuffed her bag inside.

She unpacked her backpack where she held a mirror and photo booth pictures of her friends and family. These days kids really didn't decorate their lockers but she liked to. It kept her happy and gave her locker spunk instead of the drab gray colors.

"Hi, Rachel." Jacob Ben Israel sidled up beside her. "How are you doing this fine Monday morning. You look beautiful today. Did you do something different to your hair?"

Rachel smiled sympathetically at him as he shot her question after question. He was a creepy kid that had a crush on her since the eighth grade. She always shot down his advances but didn't have the heart to tell him to buzz off.

"I'm doing quite well,"

"Doesn't matter Jew-fro go find someone else to bother." Santana approached her best friend. She laced her arm through Rachel's and settled her glare on the boy.

Jacob's face filled with fear before he grinned. He noticed their closeness and immediately thoughts filled his head.

"Are you two dating?" He clapped with glee. It was as if he'd discovered the eighth wonder of the world. "This is any boy's wet dream. I mean I never saw it coming but I could totally be down with this. Would you two like to interview for my blog?"

"Okay lover boy, first off, we're not dating." Santana poked the slightly shorter boy in his chest. "Second, if we were that wouldn't be any of your business. Third, why are you still here?"

Jacob frowned and didn't move until he saw Noah Puckerman coming down the hallway. He knew how protective the jock was of both girls and he didn't want to be slushied on the first day. He didn't offer any further conversation and bid them both goodbye.

"You didn't have to be mean to him." Rachel giggled. "He's just persistent."

"Yeah, well, persistent is just a fancy word for someone that doesn't understand the meaning of the word no." Santana stepped in front of Rachel. "Have you talked to Quinn or Britt this morning?"

"No, unfortunately, I haven't." Rachel grabbed the appropriate books she needed for her three-morning classes. "I think Britt will be late and Quinn may very well be in class already. I'll text her and see if she's made it."

"Is her dad still harassing her mom?"

"When is he not?" Rachel closed her locker with a sigh. "Our entire lives he's been a raging alcoholic. I know not everyone is like that but I wish he would leave Quinn and Aunt Judy alone. They have been divorced for quite a while now."

"Girl has it rough I tell you that." Santana agreed.

"I know." Rachel said. "I can't really imagine having a dad like Russell. He's so horrible to them."

Santana simply shook her head as they walked. This was a conversation for another time.

"How was your first morning of the first day of school compared to mine?" Mary chirped into the phone.

Shelby was currently on break and opted for taking her lunch inside of class. She had so much to do to start off the school year. Planning events, school dances, Vocal Adrenaline coach, raise three kids, maintain her marriage and somehow find time for herself. It was damn near impossible and she did fall short at times. That's where her support system came in. She called Mary during her lunch whenever they both had the time. It was rare but she enjoyed it.

"It went surprisingly well. I think Rachel and Brooke had a little disagreement this morning." Shelby set her phone down. "Other than that we had a decent morning. Did the twins give you a rough time?"

"You mean did my eleven-year-old kids drive me nuts this morning? They sure did."

"What did they do?" Shelby chuckled. Her sister always had a story to tell.

"What didn't they do?" Mary exasperated. "They spilled milk, lost their new socks, argued about the radio the whole way to school. I need a drink and the day hasn't even ended."

"Come over Friday night and we can have takeout and game night."

"Will there be wine?"

"Only if you plan on taking an Uber home."

"I'll have DJ drive." Mary dismissed the idea. "So, your three are all finally in school. How did little Derek take it when you dropped him off?"

"He cried." Shelby pouted. "It was hard but as soon as he saw that he could play with all of the toys he immediately left."

"That's my guy." Mary cheered. "You know Mom is going to want pictures, right?"

"I'm already on it and having Joe, go and get them developed today."

"I'm still wondering how you aren't the big sister." Mary murmured.

"Because you were born first." Shelby sat up straighter in her chair. "Now, tell me how I can schedule these things in the next month."

That was how Shelby spent the next half hour of her lunch break. She enjoyed talking to her sister like there was no tomorrow. She'd gotten enough work done so that she didn't have to bring it home. Just a hopefully relaxing night with her husband and children.

"Quinn, where have you been?" Rachel grabbed onto the blonde's arm. "I was so worried about you."

"I was in the nurse's office." Quinn shrugged. "I wasn't feeling too well and I needed to lie down. Just my luck it's on the first day of school."

"Are you okay now?"

"I'm fine, more than actually." Quinn gave her a smile. "How were your morning classes?"

"They were all incredible and quite informative." Rachel pulled Quinn along down the hallway. "We have econ together I hope you know."

"I know and I'm looking forward to it," Quinn said with fake enthusiasm. Rachel was excited enough for them both.

"Let's go find Santana and Brittany."

They found their friends in the lunch room. Santana was reading over a flyer she'd found sitting on their table.

"Hey Corcoran, check this out." Santana handed it to her before she was even seated.

Rachel skimmed the flyer and dropped in her seat. Glee Club was really happening she couldn't believe it. Mr. Schuester, the Spanish teacher would be coaching. She didn't know who that was and quite frankly she didn't care. She would be trying out for Glee club this Thursday.

She could not wait.

"We already know she's going to audition." Brittany pointed out. "Ever since Mercedes told her last Saturday she's had this dreamy look in her eyes. It's how I get when I look at Britney Spears."

"Where are you even going to find the time, Short Stack?" Santana asked. "Also, where the hell were you, Quinn?"

"Sick." Quinn simply said. "I was sick."

" I wish I could be sick and skip school." Brittany gave a dreamy sigh.

"I wasn't skipping, not by choice at least."

"None of this matters." Rachel stood from her seat. "I must go and practice now. I shall bid you all a good day."

"I must bid you all a good day." Santana scrunched her nose. Mocking Rachel was her favorite past time. They watched Rachel walk away before initiating their own conversations about the cheerios.

Rachel used her study hall and lunch break to practice her favorite song. The piano in the auditorium was as good as any and it gave her plenty of time to practice her vocals. She was excited about Glee club and would practice nonstop until she felt it was perfect.

When Rachel got home she immediately ran up to her room to change. When she came back down she searched the entire first floor for her mom. There was so much she needed to talk about with Shelby. Rachel's excitement died when she noticed the look on her mom's face. She had been reading a piece of mail and Rachel assumed it was serious.

"Mom, what's wrong?" Rachel frowned.

"Nothing, nothing sweetie, everything is fine." Shelby tried to hide her tears of frustration. She closed the letter and tucked it away in her back pocket.

"Are you sure?" Rachel hesitantly took a step forward. "You're crying."

"I'm fine. Now, what is it that has you so excited?" Shelby attempted to change the subject.

Rachel wasn't so sure that her mother was fine but she didn't want to push.

"I was wondering if you could come practice with me?"

"I would love to." Shelby smiled. "Come on let's go." Shelby lead Rachel to the music room in the attic. The letter was nagging her in the back of her mind but she had to think of her daughter first. She had to think about Rachel and what was in the letter would affect all of them and their family dynamic. Right now, she decided to live in the moment and enjoy life as it was.

A/n: So, what do you think the letter was about? Virtual cookies to whoever guesses it correctly.


	3. Chapter 3

Small World

By LockedSoulsAM

 **A/n: Guys I am so sorry for not updating in almost two months. Forgive me. My 20** **th** **birthday is today and I cannot sleep at all so here's to a hopefully good you see any blaring mistakes forgive me it's 4 am.**

 **PS Can you believe I posted the first chapter of LGL at 16.**

 **Enjoy =)**

Chapter 3

"How is this possible?" Shelby asked as she sat down on her bed. She tried to reign in her emotions as she finally looked down at the letter in front of her. She couldn't believe her eyes as she read the same words over and over. Leroy Berry would be given a hearing to see if he should be released from prison. His good behavior had granted him a sentencing hearing for something called "Good time Credit" that would determine his freedom. Shelby couldn't say she truly understood what that meant but the judge was asking for her to speak on Rachel's behalf due to her being a minor.

As she read further, the words blurred and Shelby pushed the letter away. There was so much more to it and she couldn't bring herself to continue reading. The life she had built with Rachel was a beautiful one. Her tiny girl had grown into such a kind and caring young woman. Gone were the days where she had to hold Rachel after a flashback or nightmares. Rachel had adjusted to life as soon as she had come to live with Shelby at three years old. In almost twelve years so much had happened. Good things, wonderful things even, and beautiful memories.

Rachel had shown no signs of remembering her childhood and Shelby knew that with a simple trigger all those traumatic memories could come back. Of course, Rachel knew that Joseph wasn't her biological father. Shelby had made it a point to tell as much of the truth as she could to her. There were also many things she didn't know and Shelby didn't know if she was ready to tell her.

How could she explain the entire situation to Rachel? To any of them? She knew she couldn't do it alone and she knew she wouldn't be able to hold it off much longer. God forbid this man even tried to get a hold of Rachel. She would go through hell and high waters to keep him away.

"If I had a dollar for every lap coach made us run I'd be rich." Santana groaned as she flopped onto Rachel's bed. She scooted until she could bump hips with her best friend. Rachel didn't pay her any mind as she flipped the pages in her textbook. It was Wednesday which meant it was her night to stay over at the Corcoran-Finley house. Both her parents worked later than usual and preferred not to leave her home alone; No matter how many times she had reminded them she was sixteen.

Rachel glanced up from her textbook and pushed Santana's feet from her bed in disgust. After every practice, Santana would come over and drop her dirty shoes onto Rachel's floor while her stinking feet landed on her duvet.

"Santana, gross, you smell." Rachel scrunched her nose. She tried to move as far away as she could but the edge of her bed was closer than she thought. She gasped as she caught herself from falling face first on her hardwood floor.

"Ugh, I know." Santana groaned. She looked up at Rachel's ceiling in exhaustion. She was met with bubble gum pink wall paint. It reminded her of Pepto Bismol. If she stared any longer she would puke. "Rach, I know you're, like, all cute and youthful and all that crap, but you seriously need a room makeover."

"I like the way it is now." Rachel scanned her eyes over her wallpaper. She returned to her reading of the French revolution. At least she pretended to. She'd been ten minutes in when she zoned out and started thinking about her Glee audition tomorrow. As the day crept up on her she became even more nervous.

"It's clashing." Santana gestured to her Barbra poster and the pink wall.

"You're right." Rachel deflated. "I don't have time."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Santana finally stood. She stripped her skirt and tossed it into her gym bag. She was left with her underwear and cheer top. She turned to Rachel's full-length mirror leaning against the wall. She inspected her body before turning to Rachel. She gestured to her hip and twisted so that Rachel could see. "Don't you think a tattoo would look good right here? I was thinking of going all hippy and getting a flower. Maybe a snake. Tramp stamps really aren't my thing."

"I think you're crazy if you think Aunt Maribel is going to let you have a tattoo."

"Oh, Rach, you're so innocent. It's so cute." Santana rolled her eyes, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she turned back to the mirror. "I know a guy on the football team. He can hook me up with his friend."

"Tana, I know you're all about bad ideas, but that sounds like a dumb one," Rachel warned. "Besides, once you do something I'm always roped into it. I thoroughly enjoy my freedom thank you very much."

"Fine." Santana sighed. Rachel was probably right. Doesn't mean she wouldn't consider it. "I'm going to shower." Santana wrapped a towel around her body before stepping out of the room.

Rachel went back to her homework. She only read a few lines before she heard a tiny knock on her door. Rachel already knew who it was but she waited for chubby fingers to wrap around the edge. She saw peeks of blonde hair before big green eyes.

"Rachel, are you done with your homework?" Derek clambered up onto her bed. "I have nothin' to do."

"Are you being dramatic?" Rachel closed her book. With Derek and Santana there was no way she would be able to get her homework done. Setting her work aside she decided to give her brother all her attention.

"I don't know what that means." Derek opted to sit on her back. "Can you play with me?"

He laid his head beside hers so that their cheeks were touching. Rachel smiled but didn't turn to look at her baby brother. There were moments that the three-year-old drove her crazy and then there were moments like this where he was sweet and kind.

"Can't mom or Brooke play with you?"

"I wanna play with you." Derek bounced. "Can we play?"

"Alright, alright but only for a little while." Rachel sat up and flipped them over. "How about you go and get your toys. I'll be here."

"Can we play Uno?" Derek asked happily. He slipped from her bed to stand beside her.

"Sure, but you cannot cheat and hog the cards this time," Rachel warned.

"Kay, I gonna go get them." Derek ran from the room almost bumping into his mother in the process. "Whoa, sorry Momma." Shelby scolded him for running but sent him on his way at his excitement for being able to play with Rachel.

"Hey, Rach, I'm going out to Whole Foods to get a few things." Shelby stopped in the doorway. "Do you need pads or anything else?"

"I don't but could you bring back chocolate?" Rachel pleaded. She knew her mom didn't let her have much of candy but she could try anyway. "You would be the best mother in the world if you did."

"I thought I was already the best mother in the world." Shelby joked. "Where's Santana?"

"She's in the shower." Rachel stood from her bed to stretch. Finally, she had a day off from all her extracurricular chaos.

"Okay, I'll get her the green licorice she likes." Shelby checked her watch. "I have a roast in the oven. I shouldn't be long but at 5:30 I want you to check and turn the oven off."

"Okay, be safe."

"Oh, and Rachel feed the cat." Shelby reminded her. "I'm surprised he's not up here harassing you for food."

"I thought Brooke fed him." Rachel winced. Kitty was her cat but he was always hanging around Brooke. She'd had him since she was a little girl and he was still surprisingly hanging by her side.

"No, it's your day." Brooke heard the tail end of their conversation and yelled from her room.

"Fine, I'll hold down the fort while you go and hunt for us." Rachel kissed Shelby on the cheek. "Just don't forget the chocolate please."

Rachel followed Shelby down the stairs until she reached the front door. Derek was taking his time setting up the cards at the dining room table. Rachel waited for her mom to leave before going to sit with him.

"Okay, kiddo, this is how the game goes." Rachel took the next five minutes to teach Derek the basics of Uno. Her efforts, in the end, would be futile as he couldn't remember all the correct steps. She would just have to repeat herself ten more times.

"I mix the cards and you can give Kitty food okay," Derek instructed his older sister. Rachel agreed while she went to find Kitty's food from the pantry. It only took her a few moments to open Kitty's can of food.

"Kitty?" Rachel called out. She set the bowl down and waited for a big orange ball of fur to run past her feet. Once she was satisfied with her task Rachel went back to sit with Derek.

"I put 7 cards for you." Derek clapped excitedly. With Shelby Corcoran as their mother, each of the children had been exposed to education at young ages. Which is why there was no surprise to how well Derek spoke and how much he knew.

"You can pull the first card from the deck," Rachel instructed. She watched as a chubby hand reached out and grabbed a card.

"I like you being my big sister," Derek said. "You always have fun games."

"Well, I'm glad you think so." Rachel leaned down so she was close to his face. "Does that mean you will listen to Barbra with me?"

"No!" Derek sighed. "I only want to listen to Barney and Wonderpets."

"I guess I understand, but one day you will learn to appreciate finer music."

"Can I play?" Brooke approached the table. She had been up in her room reading but decided to come down and see what everyone was doing.

"Sure, come on and sit." Rachel looked over at the clock hanging in the kitchen. It wasn't time to check the roast just yet so she had no problem playing a few more games. "Have you made any new friends this year yet?" Rachel asked.

While she was a social butterfly, Brooke was more reserved and content on having a few friends. Rachel was by no means popular at McKinley High but she wasn't a social pariah either. It was interesting their family dynamic. Derek was the wild and rambunctious one, while Brooke was shy and outspoken, with Rachel being the ambitious people pleaser. Neither of the children was just alike and that made for some exciting times for their home.

"Not really." Brook took her cards. "Everyone is the same as last year."

"If anyone bothers you just tell them you'll get your big cousin Santana to beat them up," Rachel advised. She was only half serious. After all, Santana was like her very own bodyguard.

"Everyone knows about Santana." Brooke pointed out. She laid out a reverse card and waited for Rachel to pull her card. Rachel waited to pull her next move before laying out a card. She grinned upon noticing that she was winning.

"Is the food done I'm starving?" Santana trampled down the stairs in boy shorts and an oversized sweatshirt. Her hair sat atop her head in a messy bun and her face was free of makeup. That's how Santana Lopez usually looked when she knew she wouldn't be stepping outside for the rest of the day. Relaxed and decompressed.

She sat at the table with the rest of the kids. She didn't want to play Uno but she also didn't want to be alone.

"Why don't you guys have boyfriends?" Brooke suddenly asked. "You're in high school and Santana is a junior. That's almost graduated, right? Why doesn't she have a boyfriend? Rachel too?"

Santana and Rachel share a look across the table, silently deciding on who should speak first, Santana opens her mouth but closes it again.

"I'm dating Matt Rutherford." Santana tried to jog her memory. "I brought him to the fourth of July barbecue? We've been together for like three months. Which is the longest I've been with any guy."

"We know." Rachel joked. "Also, I am much too busy to make time for a love interest. Not that I don't have potential suitors but I would much rather not spend time worrying if he's going to text back."

"I have a girlfriend," Derek informed them.

"Dude, you're three." Santana laughed. "Your definition of girlfriend is probably your best friend sharing her crayons with you."

That got a laugh out of everyone.

"Would it be okay if you liked a girl?" Brooke asked.

There was a silence that was only filled with Derek's chatter. He threw his cards down onto the table. He mumbled that he was bored and was going to play with his toys. Rachel stood to check the roast but made sure to tell her sister that she was listening.

"Yes, I-I think it is." Santana stuttered. She was caught off guard by the questions coming from her best friend's sister. She was by no means the right person to have this conversation with a ten-year-old. "There are a lot of people, assholes really, that don't think the same thing. I'm definitely not one of them."

"I agree." Rachel turned off the oven and came to sit back down. "People should be able to love who they want. I don't see why it's anyone else's business."

"So if you liked a girl or if I liked one would Momma and Daddy is angry?" Brooke seemed to be so interested in the topic.

"I think that's a conversation we would have to have with them." Rachel frowned. "They would be thrilled to meet whomever we love."

"Cool." Brooke decided that this was okay. She loved being able to talk and ask her two-favorite people about everything. Sure, half of the time she and Rachel were fighting but she knew she could always come to Rachel. Rachel prided herself on being able to listen to her sister whenever she needed.

Later that night after dinner everyone was doing their own thing. Santana was currently having a borderline annoying conversation with Brittany over the phone while finishing her homework. Brooke and Derek were already asleep. Shelby was up in her office completing a few music related things for Vocal Adrenaline.

"Momma, are you busy?" Rachel slipped into her office.

"No, I'm just finishing up." Shelby pushed her packet of paper away and set down her reading glasses. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to be with you." Rachel shrugged. She stood with her back against the door.

"Come sit." Shelby patted her lap. Yes, Rachel was older but she wasn't too big to sit on her lap. Rachel didn't fight the command as she crossed the room to sit. She positioned her head to lay on Shelby's shoulder. Shelby already knew what the problem was before Rachel even spoke. "You're nervous about tomorrow." It was more of a statement than a question.

"How'd you know?" Rachel asked. She closed her eyes and relaxed deeper into her mother's embrace as Shelby's fingers combed through her hair.

"A mother knows everything, Rach," Shelby said. She played with Rachel's hair for a few seconds before finally speaking. "You're going to do great. You're Rachel Barbra Corcoran and anything is possible. You have a gift and you use it well. The glee coach would be crazy not to have you."

They'd done this same mantra plenty of times before. Rachel had moments where she was insecure or apprehensive about a performance. There was nothing like being reassured by her mother.

"You know you can always transfer to Carmel and join Vocal Adrenaline."

"And run the risk of bumping heads with Coach Corcoran?" Rachel snorted. "I think I'll pass on that offer. I'd much rather be able to look at you when coming home. Besides, that St. James kid is a douche."

"He's a douche but he's a great singer." Shelby agreed. "Now go and rest your voice. Tell Santana to hang up the phone and both of you get to bed."

"Yes, Mom." Rachel stood and rolled her eyes. Mid-step Rachel turned back to her mother. "Who is Leroy? I heard you talking about him to dad the other day. It sounded serious. Do I know him?"

Shelby's heart stopped beating for half a second. She was not ready to bring any of this up. Not tonight. Not when Rachel was already so nervous about her performance.

"Leroy is no one special." Shelby chooses this route. She hates lying to her daughter but she knows that she needs to be prepared to even speak about him. "Don't worry he's no one. Just grown up stuff."

"Okay, I'm mature for my age." Rachel smiled. "I may only be fourteen, fifteen in three months, but I'm certainly old enough to hear "grown up" things."

"I'll keep that in mind." Shelby gives her a small smile in return. "I love you. Go to bed."

"Love you too, Momma."

Shelby watched her walk out before letting out a huge breath. Life was certainly not going to be what it had been.

"Hello, I'm Rachel Corcoran and I'm going to be singing "My Man." Rachel stood center stage in the school's auditorium. William Schuester sat a few feet away at the judges' table. Rachel nodded to the pianist and stood tall. She tried to remember what her mom said to her last night as she closed her eyes.

 _Oh, my man, I love him so_

 _He'll never know_

 _All my life is just despair_

 _But I don't care_

 _When he takes me in his arms_

 _The world is bright, all right_

 _What's the difference if I say_

 _I'll go away_

 _When I know I'll come back on my knees some day?_

 _For whatever my man is_

 _I am his forever more_

Within thirty seconds of Rachel singing the first few notes of the song Will knew he wanted her to be a part of the glee club. She was tiny but loud. She had the charisma and was the epitome of a true star. When she was done she kept her eyes closed for a few seconds longer. Will's clapping washed over her.

"You were amazing." Will stands. "I think you would be a terrific addition to the Glee club."

Rachel grinned trying to keep herself composed. "Thank you so much. You won't regret it."

Rachel left the stage and quickly sent a text to her parents. She didn't expect things to go so smoothly. This would be an amazing school year.

 **A/n: So, the first few chapters have been for you to get a feel of the family dynamic and how they all sort of go about their usual days. The story will begin to pick up next chapter.**

 **-LSAM**


	4. Chapter 4

Small World

By LockedSoulsAM

There was one word to describe the world of Mckinley High; Busy. From the time the doors open at 7:45 a.m. until the time they closed at 3 p.m. Students walked the hall continuously every hour back and forth to class. Having only five minutes between each class was a cause for lots of chaos. The congested hallways were always buzzing with hungry students waiting for the chance to make it to lunch around this time. A few football players were playing catch with a football near the edge of Mckinley's main hallway. Not caring if they accidentally bumped into anyone, the boys threw as far as they could. With a hurried apology and another pass, they continue to play their game until they got caught. The Cheerios would complain about their appearances to each other between gossip.

Sometimes someone would be slushied and the constant chatter would die down if only for a few minutes. Hushed whispers were kept to a minimum as each student deemed a "loser" would pray under their breaths not to be the next victim. Not everyone brought a change of clothes to school. Having to explain why sticky colored substance donned your clothes when going home wasn't fun. Still, there was never an uprising against the fake hierarchy of the high school. It was just how things were.

Some students hated their time at Mckinley, Rachel, on the other hand, she was never phased by it. Under the protection of both her cousin and best friend, she never had to worry about being slushied. Not if people enjoyed their reputations. Courtesy of Quinn Fabray. Black eyes were more of Santana's thing. No matter how many times she got suspended for it.

So with the protection of Mckinley's most popular students, Rachel walked the halls feeling on fire. Well, most days. Today was different. She would be finding out if she made the Glee Club. Her anxiety was at an all-time high. She had confidence that she had done well. After Mr. Schuester had complimented her on her audition she was informed that he would formally post who made the team on the bulletin board. As if he didn't already know who he wanted.

That brought her to the giant bulletin board in front of her. Flier upon flier filled the board. It was bright and eye-catching. Student Council did a good job with decorations she had to admit. If she had the time she probably would have run for that too. It would look good on her college resumes. Shaking her head, Rachel knew she was getting off track. Wringing her hands, she scanned the bulletin to find the results of yesterday's auditions. Rarely did anyone ever pay attention to the board. Gone were the days of face to face interaction. Social Media was the way to go to get any of your news. The school's Facebook page, run by the school newspaper, was the source for all things happening at McKinley. These rules did not apply to William Schuster as he posted the lineup for Glee club. Its newest members on display for all of the world to see.

Once she found what she was looking for, she bit into the bottom of her lip. It was a nervous habit that her mother tried to get her to stop doing. That clearly failed. With a gasp and a squeal, She jumped with joy and pulled her iPhone out of the right pocket of her jeans.

Snapping a picture of her name she uploaded it to Snapchat with a smiley face emoji and a gold star. A metaphor for her being a star. She smiled one last time at the list as she searched for the names of the rest of her future team members. Kurt Hummel, Mercedes Jones, Tina Cohen-Chang. She had known these people for a very long time and she was excited to see what would come of this team. First practice was next week. She had plenty of time to prepare for what she wanted to suggest singing.

Mr. Schuster was an okay Spanish teacher, but she hoped he was a better coach. If they were going to perform at any competitions they needed to be the best. You could only be the best if you were taught by the best. Well, the best was Shelby Corcoran, but Rachel didn't want to work under her mom. Not now and not ever. She'd seen how her mom operated. It sent shudders down her spine. Coach Corcoran was not someone to mess with. Not even if she was her mom.

"Hey, Pipsqueak are you heading home?" Santana stepped up to Rachel. She used any nickname she could to signify Rachel's height.

"You're eating dinner with us tonight?" Rachel asked. She ignored Santana's nickname.

"Nope, I have practice until seven and my mom wants me home straight after." Santana linked arms with her best friend. "Something about sneaking out the other night or whatever." She rolled her eyes. Getting in trouble no longer phased her. It was just in her nature.

"Wait, who did you sneak out and see?"

"I didn't see anyone." Santana quickly answered. Almost too quickly. "Look I have a life and my dear parents cannot stop that. "

"One day you will learn Santana Lopez." Rachel shook her head. She didn't dare sneak out of the house. Her mom had eyes in the back of her head and always knew Rachel's next move before she did. It was weird. Plus her dad was a detective. There was no way Rachel would be able to get into any sort of trouble. Somehow though she found ways. She wasn't on Santana's level per se but she was sneaky of her own caliber. Rachel narrowed her eyes at the taller girl. They were so different, yet they somehow clicked.

Looking out of the double doors, Rachel noticed her mother's Range Rover pull into the parking lot. She hugged Santana bye and waited at the curb. Rachel grinned and took her seat at the passenger side. Glancing to the back seat, she waved at her younger brother.

"Hi, Derek."Rachel settled into her seat. "Hello, mother."

"What are you all smiley about?" Shelby asked her suspiciously.

"I made the glee club." Rachel's grin had grown from ear to ear. This was going to be one of the highlights of her year.

"You're gonna sing?" Derek asked excitedly. He loved it when Rachel sang. She sounded like an angel.

"That's great, Rach." Shelby began to drive away from McKinley. "Put that seat belt on and we can continue celebrating. We have to stop by the grocery store for dinner. Your aunt and cousins are coming over, but I'll let you pick."

"Oh, can we have small celebratory cupcakes?" Rachel pulled her phone out to text Quinn.

"Depends on if you're going to put your phone away more than five seconds and help me prepare dinner.." She stopped at a red light. She looked over to Rachel and rolled her eyes. Her fingers were tapping away incessantly. "Rachel?"

"Hmm?" Rachel never looked up from her phone.

"Dinner. You're helping." Shelby reminded her.

"Oh yeah, sure." She looked up. She always liked helping her mom in the kitchen.

The rest of their conversation was more or less one-sided as they drove to pick Brooke up from school. Derek would join in on the conversation when he understood what they were talking about.

"Mom, guess what happened at school today." Brooke threw her backpack at her feet and buckled herself in. She kissed Derek on the cheek and purposely ignored Rachel. She was still a little upset about the entire shirt debacle.

"What?" Shelby asked. Sometimes she was genuinely interested in her children's stories.

"Grace got her period!" Brooke began. "She said it was her first one."

"What's a period?" Derek quirked his brow.

"Wow, already?" Shelby asked at the same time. The girls were only in the fifth grade. Rachel hadn't gotten her first period until she was in the seventh grade. Shelby knew that had to be pretty hard on Grace considering she had only her dad. Not having a woman to talk to had to be pretty hard.

"It's something weird that older girls get," Brooke explained to her younger brother. "It's when you bleed."

"Like a cut?" Derek was intrigued now. His sisters were always telling him some new concept. Even if they weren't always aged appropriate. His three yea

"Yeah, but worse." Brooke shook her head.

"I don't want a period." Derek scrunched his nose.

"Well, be glad you won't ever have one, buddy." Shelby put an end to the conversation. Her daughters didn't always read the room and she knew Derek's three-year-old mind would explode if they explained it in any more detail. "Brooke, I'll talk to you more about it later if you have questions. Read the room."

"Okay," She shrugged in return. She had plenty more to talk about anyways. Rachel had zoned out her family and their conversation a while ago. She'd been texting in the group chat she shared with Santana, Quinn, and Brittany. They were all asking questions about why Quinn was not in practice that day. So far Quinn hadn't responded. There had to be something wrong. Quinn had been kind of distant this past week. They needed a girls night and soon.

Glancing out of the car window, Rachel noticed the difference in scenery. A parking lot filled with cars and shopping carts. She forgot about their grocery trip due to the concern for her cousin. She didn't dare mention it to her mom yet. Not until they could understand what was wrong with her.

"Yay! Grocery store." Derek cheered. That meant he could pick a candy. At least in his mind.

"You all know the rules," Shelby turned the engine off. "No touching, no grabbing, and no asking. We're here for dinner items. Anything not on the list may be decided on last."

Rachel rolled her eyes. She knew the rules. They applied more to the two in the backseat. Derek was prone to throwing tantrums when he couldn't have something. Those weren't fun times. Shelby would usually carry him back to the car until he was finished throwing a tantrum. That always made their trip longer than planned. She prayed he wouldn't act up today. She had lots of homework to finish before dinner.

With Brooke next to her they grabbed a shopping cart. Shelby helped Derek into the seat and lead the group inside. She waved at the cashier. She was a young girl attending the community college and had been working there for years.

"Okay, first on our list is pasta," Shelby said. "Rachel, do you think you and Brooke could go and pick up a carton of milk."

"Sure," Rachel answered. She didn't wait for Brooke as she knew she would be following her. Aisle 1 was where all of the dairy products were held. She stopped along the shelf and eyed the milk. She was searching for the right kind.

"Do you think we should just get one?" Brooke asked.

Rachel looked over to her pointedly and grabbed one carton.

"Rachel, you can't ignore me forever." Brooke sighed.

Rachel raised another brow and simply turned away.

"I'm sorry," Brooke began again. Rachel stopped in her tracks to look at her younger sister. "For taking your shirt. It's just a really cool shirt and I wanted to wear it to school."

"You have your own clothes." Rachel said. Gripping the milk to her chest, she leaned against the stand of the milk shelves. She wanted an explanation.

"The girls at schools all have bras," Brooke whispered. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. This was certainly an awkward conversation to be having in the milk aisle. "Avia has boobs."

"Okay…" Rachel nodded. That made zero sense.

"They all have bras and they all have boobs already," Brooke said. "I'm the only one who doesn't."

"It's fifth grade." Rachel reasoned. "I wouldn't expect you to."

"But they do," Brooke said. "They all make fun of me for it. The boys all do this thing at school where they snap the girl's bra straps and it's not fun. But I don't have one to snap."

"Those boys should be punished for sexual harassment," Rachel growled. "Have you told Mom?" Brooke's pleading eyes let her know that wasn't the point she was trying to make. "So you wore my shirt to make it seem like your chest was bigger?"

"Sort of," Brooke sighed again. "If I have a cool shirt they won't notice the bra thing right?" Rachel couldn't say that her sisters logic was right. She was ten so she gave her a pass.

"I guess," Rachel pulled her sister along into another aisle. It was a familiar one. The closest aisle to where she assumed their mom would be. "I really think you shouldn't be worried about that though. They will grow one day. Look at me I barely have any boo-," Rachel's sentence was interrupted by her bumping into what she could tell was another human.

"Oh, I'm so-so," Rachel turned to see who the person was. "Sorry." Her voice fell flat. Choking on her words she lost her voice. It was a boy. A very cute boy. A very familiar boy. "It's you."

"Yeah, it's me." Jesse St. James grinned. "Hi, little Corcoran." He nodded to Brooke. Jesse was the captain of Vocal Adrenaline, Shelby's glee club. He stared at Rachel for a few seconds. Both of them seemed content on smiling at each other.

"I'm going to find mom," Brooke said at the awkward silence. Teenagers were weird.

"She's cute." Jesse laughed.

"Yeah, she is." Rachel nodded. Looking around, she finally noticed what aisle they were in. Looking down at the offending box in his hand, she cleared her throat and avoided eye contact.

"Oh, um, these are…" Jesse found himself struggling to explain. He really didn't have an excuse anyway.

"You don't have to explain." Rachel shook her head.

"So how are you?" Jesse asked. They'd known each other for a while now. He was a senior and she was only a sophomore but she'd attended plenty of her mom's competitions to know him well enough.

"I'm fine." Rachel felt butterflies. Did she always feel those before? "I made my school's glee club."

"Oh wow," Jesse seemed genuinely happy for her. "Congrats. I guess that makes you competition."

"I guess it does." Rachel smiled. "Of course, if you could stay on key."

"Ouch," Jesse feigned hurt covering his heart with his hands. The condom box made a crinkling sound against his chest and he was reminded of his reason for being there. Lowering the box out of their line of sight he tried again. "So, do you have a -"

"Rachel, there you are, we're waiting on the milk in line. I left Derek and Brooke up there." Shelby approached them. "Jesse, oh, it's good to see you here." Yep, even teachers felt awkward about seeing their students outside of school.

This time Jesse hid the box behind his back. His cheeks turned red as he tried to keep his composure. If Shelby noticed it she didn't mention it. What she did notice was the amount of distance between her daughter and Jesse St. James. If you would call it that. They were practically in each other's faces. Narrowing her eyes, she looked back and forth between the two. Her eyes caught sight of the condom box. With a sigh, she decided not to bring it up. This was already awkward enough.

"See you at school, Jesse." Shelby shook her head. "Tell your mother I said hi."

"Right, bye." Rachel dragged her mother out the aisle. "Mom,"

"What did I say?" Shelby asked. "I think I was definitely cool."

"Sure, cool." Rachel groaned. "Can we go home now?"

"We've been ready," Shelby reminded her. "You're the one who's been flirting with a boy in the sexual reproduction aisle. Do we need to have the talk again?"

"God, Mom, No!" Rachel practically shouted. "Please,"

Shelby laughed at her daughter's embarrassment. She found her rosy cheeks amusing.

Rachel ignored her laughter and pulled out her phone. The girls weren't going to believe this.

"Rachel, what took you so long?" Derek scolded her. "We was standing here for forever."

"Sorry," Rachel humored him. "I'll make it up to you by playing your favorite song when we get in the car. Will that make you feel better?"

"That won't make me feel better," Shelby muttered. She would rather not listen to Barney for the next five miles.

Dinner. They could get through dinner and then everyone would be in bed. Then Shelby could pour herself a glass of much-needed wine.

"So he's possibly getting parole?" Mary asked as she helped Shelby set the table. Joseph and David wouldn't be attending as they had worked so that was two fewer places for her to set.

The children were all upstairs playing in Brooke's room. Rachel was finishing up her homework and DJ was helping her. All was quiet in the house.

"The letter informed me that I could attend the hearing," Shelby set down plates. "I don't know if I really want to go."

"You have to." Mary urged her. "At least to speak on Rachel's behalf. You have to let them know just how much that evil prick has affected her life. I mean can she even sit through fire alarms at school without having a panic attack?"

"Sometimes," Shelby pinched the bridge of her nose. She could feel a headache coming on. " she just thinks she doesn't like loud noises. They've become infrequent as she got older. I know I should be there. It's been eleven years. Almost twelve since he's been locked up. Seeing his face isn't going to be easy. Why now? Why when everything is going so good for us?"

"As opposed to later?" Mary said. There was a pregnant pause before she asked another question. "Does Rachel know about him?"

"She knows that Joe isn't her biological father if that's what you're asking then yes." Shelby sat. She didn't think she could stand for the rest of this conversation.

"Shelby," Mary hissed.

"I know, okay," Shelby replied. "I knew that at some point I would have to tell her the truth. She's asked a few times about her father and we told her that he wasn't right for her. That was when she was younger and she never asked her again. I don't want to have to tell her about the men that abused her when she was three years old."

"You have to tell her," Mary emphasized. "God forbid something triggers her and she goes looking for answers on her own. Have you thought about that?"

"I have," Shelby nodded. "A lot. I wonder every day if she has memories of any of it."

"I'm not going to tell you what's best for your kid, Shelby, that's something for you and Joe to figure out," Mary said. "What I'm saying is that you need to make sure you're thinking about the consequences of keeping this from her. What if he tries to contact her?"

Shelby's heart sank at those words. Could he contact Rachel? She certainly needed the answers to that question. She and Joe needed to sit down and discuss how they were going to proceed with everything. She just needed a little more time.

"What do you think they're talking about down there?" Rachel asked DJ. He was sat at her desk working on his own homework now. This was his last year at home with her. Since they'd gotten older they spent less time together but he was still her favorite cousin.

"Some dude named Leroy," DJ shrugged.

"Do you know who he is?" Rachel's curiosity was peaked. She'd heard that name two times in the span of a month.

"Nah," DJ shook his head. "Probably some ex or something. I hear things, but not enough to know what they're talking about."

Rachel went back to her homework. They'd already talked about all they could in the last hour. College, girls, friends, boys, and even Smash Bros. Rachel didn't play video games regularly, but she knew how much he enjoyed them. She was about to ask him another question but was distracted by the incoming text from Quinn in their group chat.

 _Guys, I'm fine. Don't worry. - Quinn_

Rachel wondered if she was having problems with her dad again. After so long it would have probably been good for him to get his act together.

"Kids, dinner is ready," Mary yelled up the stairs. She waited expectantly to hear the footsteps. They came right on time and she smiled.

"Mom, tell Gabe to stop pulling my hair." Avia pushed her brother almost making him trip down the stairs.

"Gabe, stop pulling your sister's hair," Mary warned him in a voice that said she'd told him this plenty of times before. "We are going to have a nice dinner. So that means no arguing or you're both grounded for a month."

"Does that mean we get sent to clean Nana and Pop's house?" Gabe asked. Shoving Avia when his mom wasn't looking, he took her seat and dug into his plate.

"Yes," Mary raised a brow.

"Cool," Gabe said through his bites. With a shake of her head, Mary knew that her kid was a lost cause.

"Brooke, how are you doing?" Mary asked her niece. Rachel and DJ were the last ones to enter the dining room. "Are you joining soccer with Avia this year?"

"I'm fine," Brooke answered dutifully. "I think so."

"Have any of you talked to Aunt Megan or Aunt Ellie?" Shelby asked.

"I talked to Aunt Maggie a few hours ago," Rachel spoke up. "She was congratulating me on my making the glee club."

"Ellie's ready to pop," Mary said. "The newest addition to the Corcoran family will be here sooner than we think. I'm guessing before Thanksgiving."

"My money's on after." DJ bit wolfed down his food.

"Ellie's having the baby on Thanksgiving? It's gonna be a turkey baby." Derek laughed at his own joke.

"It's not going to be a turkey baby," Shelby laughed. "But I'd say after Thanksgiving too. By the way, Rachel, how's Quinn? She hasn't been over in a while."

"Quinn is fine." Rachel's answer was short.

"Did you two have a fight?" Shelby questioned.

"No, we've both just been really busy," Rachel promised. The truth was she didn't have a reason or explanation for Quinn's distance. "I'll ask her over this weekend."

"Great, we all could probably go and see a movie," Shelby suggested.

Rachel nodded in agreement. That she could do. She only hoped that Quinn would agree.

"Oh, there's a ton of new movies out." Mary joined the conversation. "I'd recommend seeing something with lots of action."

"I'll have to look," Rachel replied.

"Rachel, can you help Avia and me look up outfits for the daddy-daughter dance coming up?" Brooke changed the topic of conversation.

Rachel grinned. She would love to help. Though Rachel was surprised Brook was asking her and not Santana or Brittany. They always had the best clothes.

"Yeah, sure, after dinner."

"Cool," Avia sounded a lot like Gabe at that moment.

The rest of their dinner was small talk and a bunch of bickering between Gabe and Avia. Though they were incredibly close they bickered more than necessary. Mary finally put her foot down when the vegetable throwing happened. Angry Mary was pretty scary Rachel had to admit. Possibly even scarier than her own mom. She wondered if all moms had that scary mom look when they were mad.

"You're getting out soon aren't you?" His cellmate asked. The guy was new. Desperate to make a name for himself in this place. He was going to spend a long time in it anyways.

"Yeah. hopefully within the next four months," Leroy answered.

"Sounds good," The bald man asked. Leroy hadn't bothered to learn his name. They all had nicknames but he hadn't bothered to learn that either. "What you writing?"

"A letter to my girl," He stopped his pen.

"Your girl?"

"My daughter," He answered. "I kind of want to make things right with her. Did some terrible shit a while back."

"Better late than never right?"

Leroy nodded and went back to his writing. He didn't share the entire story to his cellmate of just how he landed in prison. He didn't think that mattered anymore. He'd served his time and redeemed himself. According to him, he'd even found God. Ten years was a long time to sit and think about what he let happen to Rachel. He wondered what she looked like now. Maybe like him. At 3 she had always looked like the spitting image of Shelby. Even after signing his rights away all those years ago, he'd always hoped he would get to talk to her one day. Explain things. Maybe let her see things from his side. She had to be almost 15 now.

So with her in mind, he wrote a letter.

A/n: So… thoughts? A lot of foreshadowing. Subtle hints. Possible problems for our favorite family.


	5. Chapter 5

Small World

By LockedSoulsAM

 **A/n: Two chapters in the span of two days. Call me butter cause I'm on a roll.**

 **Enjoy =)**

She'd been looking for her all day. In the library, in the gym, and even the cafeteria. Rachel was starting to think Quinn had gone missing. She wasn't answering any of their texts. Besides the one from earlier this week, it had been dead. So today, Rachel decided she would confront Quinn and ask her what was wrong. Okay, confront sounded like the wrong word. Approach her? Ask her? Was there a word for asking your best friend why she was being so distant with you and only giving one-word answers to all of your questions in class? She would store that question in her head for later.

Today was different. There had been no sign of Quinn all day. Rachel began to worry that her friend was, in fact, missing. She didn't dare ask Aunt Judy. That was going against the friend code. Never ask parents unless you think it was life and death. It wasn't a real rule, but it had always been their rule. This could be considered life or death? Your best friend didn't suddenly stop talking to you.

Rachel wanted to check one last place before she gave up on seeing Quinn at all today. She had to be there. With a determination and luck on her side, she found Quinn right where she was expecting; At her locker. Quinn was searching for something and checking her phone at the same time when Rachel approached her.

"Hey," Rachel said hesitantly. She didn't know what type of mood the other girl would be in today.

"Hey," Quinn's lackluster greeting depleted Rachel's confidence.

'Come on Rachel you can do this. This is Quinn. You've both known each other since forever. There's nothing you can't ask her.' Rachel nodded to herself and tried again.

"I was just wondering if you were alright?" Rachel asked."We haven't seen you around in a while. My mom's even been asking about you."

"I'm fine," Quinn said. She didn't offer up any further explanation.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Rachel asked. Stepping aside so that Quinn could close her locker, Rachel gave her friend a once over. Physically she seemed fine. Quinn looked the same as always. Her pink top and jeans paired with pink flats seemed very Quinn. Very bright and colorful. Even if that was the opposite of how Quinn was acting. There was no denying that there was something off about her. For weeks now she had been distant. Not answering their texts. Skipping class. Missing practice. Quinn never missed practice. She was almost as much of a stickler as Rachel.

"Rach, I promise, I'm fine." Quinn clutched her bag a little closer to her. She turned in the direction of her next class. The next class that she shared with Rachel, in fact. Curse her cousin for being so smart. She could hear Rachel's steps beside her as they zig-zagged through the hallway. Every once in a while someone would stop her to talk to her, but she was dead set on making it to class. On time. Five minutes felt like a long time and no time at all. She avoided eye contact with Rachel. She was buying time. That much was clear.

Rachel struggled to keep up as she was just a few paces behind Quinn.

"Can you look at me with a straight face and say it?" Rachel bit her lip. Quinn could react in two ways, with a smile and a promise, or annoyance and anger. She hoped it was the first option. They were all concerned about her. Rachel only wanted to know if her friend was okay. "I mean, Quinn, I'm your best friend. Your cousin. You can talk to me."

Suddenly, Quinn stopped and turned to Rachel. "Can I really?"

"I mean, yeah, you always have." Rachel's brow furrowed. "We're all so concerned about you. We just need to know you're okay." Quinn was staring at her so intensely that they didn't hear the bell ring. "Did something happen at home? Your dad? Did he do something?"

Quinn took a deep breath and searched Rachel's eyes. She needed to know if she could trust her. Finally, she had the courage to speak.

"Girls, do you plan on joining my class any time soon?" Mr. Fink stood with his arms crossed.

"Quinn?" Rachel took her arm effectively stopping her in her tracks.

"Forget it," Quinn yanked her arm away and entered the classroom. "It's no big deal anyways. I can handle things on my own."

What was that supposed to mean? Not having the opportunity to ask for more with Mr. Fink breathing down their necks, Rachel had the decency to look apologetic as she passed Mr. Fink to enter the classroom. She was all the way to her desk when she looked up. Quinn usually sat right next to her. Not today. Taking her seat, she scanned the classroom for the back of Quinn's head. Two rows up. Right near the front. A place they never usually sat.

Rachel opened up her own textbook. Staring at the pages, she tried to figure out what Quinn could have possibly been about to tell her. Did her dad hit her? No, he wouldn't do that. Right? Sure he was always drunk but he had never hurt Quinn. Not that she knew of. Did something happen with Noah? He and Quinn weren't even dating technically. She knew they hung out sometimes, but they weren't exclusive. Not enough for Quinn to be bothered by his wrongdoings. She did like him a lot. Quinn would tell her friends about it. That's what puzzled Rachel the most.

Taking out her phone, she scrolled through her iMessage until she found Santana's name.

 _I don't know what to do about Quinn. She won't talk - Rachel_

Rachel put her phone down and tried to listen in on what Mr. Fink was lecturing. She needed to distract herself from waiting for Santana's reply. She read the board. Something about the human reproductive system. The First Trimester. That would be interesting enough. She hoped Santana replied soon.

"Internal organs and body structures begin to develop during the first trimester." Mr. Fink spoke allowed. "Exposure to any toxins is especially dangerous during the first trimester, as all of the body's organs and structures are going through initial development."

Just then, Rachel's phone vibrated and she quickly unlocked it.

 _Just let her be. She'll come around soon. Maybe she's just sick? - Santana_

Sick. Right. Rachel's eyes traveled over to Quinn. She seemed to be deeply engrossed in her textbook. Her fingers were tracing over the picture of a small fetus on one of the pages. Rachel turned back to her teacher. Things weren't right and she wanted to fix them. Hopefully, Quinn would open up whenever she was ready.

* * *

The rest of her school day was a blur. Rachel went from class to class trying to shake her worrying mood. She couldn't stand it when one of her friends was clearly going through something and she couldn't help. It was in her blood. She and Quinn always told each other everything. Only this time they didn't.

Rachel let all of her worries go as she entered the Glee club room. She'd been in here a few times to practice on the piano. This time she saw everything in a new light. She took a spot front and center. Folding her hands in her lap, she waited patiently for the rest of her teammates to file in.

"Hey, girl, what's up?" Mercedes tapped her shoulder. The chairs weren't as close together as she wanted.

"Hi, Mercedes, I'm so excited to be here." Rachel gushed. "We're going to have so much fun. I already have an array of several genres that will best fit my voice. Of course, Barbra will be at the top of that list. What about you?"

"Um, I don't think I'm as prepared." Mercedes looked at her as if she had grown a second head. "I mean it's the first day. Not much can be happening but introducing ourselves. Oh god! If he makes us do an icebreaker I'm out."

Rachel giggled with her friend. They continued to talk about their summers and the things they wanted to do for Glee when Mr. Schuester entered the room with a small brunette behind him.

Her pigtails swung in different directions as she tried to keep up with her much taller Coach.

"Listen up everyone, we have a guest who would like to audition for Glee club." Will clapped his hands to get their attention.

"I thought auditions were over," Kurt Hummel raised his hand.

"And they are, but I'm thinking we can make an exception this time." Will nodded to the girl. Rachel had to admit that her outfit was pretty cute. A light denim vest with a red short sleeve shirt under it. The bottoms weren't really Rachel's style but they looked nice on this new girl. "This is Sunshine Corazon. She's going to sing for us today. I think it's only fair that we all give her a chance."

"I agree," Rachel spoke up. "We would love to have someone like Sunshine to add to our group."

"You haven't even heard her sing," Mercedes muttered from beside her. Rachel reached over to pinch her. "Ow."

"Be nice." Rachel chastised her friend.

"Okay, but if you pinch me again we're going to have problems," Mercedes warned her.

"If you're all done, Sunshine would like to sing now." Will stepped aside to give her the spotlight. He pressed a button on the radio and the first few notes of a song began to play through the speakers.

 _Hello, hello, baby_

 _You called, I can't hear a thing_

 _I have got no service_

 _In the club, you see, see_

 _Wha-wha-what did you say?_

 _Oh, you're breaking up on me_

 _Sorry, I cannot hear you_

 _I'm kinda busy_

To say that Sunshine could sing was an understatement. That girl had pipes. Everyone in the room could see that. Or hear it. Rachel found a surge of jealousy course through her veins that she shot down. The competitor in her was going to rear its ugly head and she didn't need that. Rachel begrudgingly bopped to the rest of the song as she looked around the room. The rest of her teammates were clearly enjoying Sunshine's little performance.

Once Sunshine was down, they all clapped, even Rachel.

"That was incredible, Sunshine." Will clapped the loudest. "I think it's safe to say you've made the glee club."

"Great." Sunshine shrugged shyly. Pushing her glasses further up her nose, she tried to find an open seat. There was one coincidentally right next to Rachel.

"I think we found all of our glee club members," Will announced. "Give yourselves congratulations and a pat on the back. Now I want to do a couple of ice breakers today that would let us get to know each other all a little better."

Mercedes loud sigh could be heard by all as they waited to hear what he was going to say next. Why did teachers insist on doing ice breakers?

"Okay, now I want you all to get into threes and discuss your name, grade, and one thing you want to happen this year in Glee club." Will dismissed them to work together for the next ten minutes.

Rachel looked to her left and right. She would be in a group with both Mercedes and Sunshine. Easy enough. They moved their chairs together so that they would all be in a circle.

"I'm Mercedes Jones and I'm a sophomore. Well, I want to sing at least a Beyonce' song. Some soul. Tina Turner, Michael Jackson," Mercedes began her spiel. Rachel nodded in agreement. She loved all of those artists.

"I'm Rachel Corcoran, and I would like to win nationals." She took her turn. Turning to Sunshine, she smiled in what she hoped was an encouraging way.

"I'm Sunshine Corazon, I'm a freshman, and I'm hoping to make the captain of Glee club. Maybe sing a few solos." Sunshine shrugged again. At her confession, Rachel took a visibly deep breath. There was no way Sunshine was taking her undeclared spot as captain.

Not on her watch.

* * *

"I can't believe stupid Sunshine," Rachel grumbled as she stormed into the auditorium of Vocal Adrenaline. Feeling empowered by the double doors slamming shut, Rachel huffed and threw herself into the nearest available seat. She couldn't believe the day she had so far. First Quinn and her secrets and now this Sunshine girl. Unbelievable.

Already knowing who it was that entered the auditorium, Shelby ignored Rachel and continued to coach her club. She gave instructions and placed people where she wanted them. They were in the last few minutes of their practice. Then she could get to the bottom of her daughter's sour mood. Rachel knew better than to be so loud while she was coaching and Shelby hoped they wouldn't be having any problems.

"Sunshine and her stupid nice clothes," Rachel muttered as she watched the members of Vocal Adrenaline. They were a good group. Jesse was the captain. She bet Jesse never had to deal with someone trying to steal his spot.

"Okay guys, I want you to go home and practice this. I'll see you all on Thursday." Shelby dismissed the group. She really had to pee and they needed to go. Rushing off the stage in the most professional manner that she could, she directed Rachel to meet her in her office.

Rachel nodded. She was still seething about her day. Collecting her mother's notes from the table, she stuffed them into the black Gucci bag on the table. She bet her mother never had to deal with someone trying to take her spot. Well, back on Broadway she probably did. That was different.

"Hey, Rachel," A voice from her left distracted her from her thoughts.

"Oh, Hi, Jesse." She stood straighter.

"How are you today?"

"I'm fine." Rachel grouched. She threw the bag over her shoulder.

"You don't seem fine." Jesse pointed out. Rachel looked up to him and his smiling face. He didn't deserve for her to be so short with him.

"You're right." Rachel said. "I'm sorry. I'm just not having a good day."

"Want to tell me about it?" Jesse suggested. "I've been told I'm a good listener."

"You. A good listener?" Rachel asked clearly in disbelief.

"I can be." Jesse shrugged. "Besides, I'd hate for such a pretty and talented person like you to walk around with that much anger. You'll get frown lines."

Rachel laughed. She was way too young to have frown lines.

"I really have to meet my mom at her office." She gestured to the other side of the building. "She's probably wondering where I am."

"I can walk you." Jesse hoped she would say yes. With another flash of his smile, she melted.

"Okay." She agreed. They kept the same pace as she began to rant to him about Quinn and Sunshine. He listened patiently and gave his input whenever he thought it was needed. Rachel thought that he was actually a good listener. On top of being cute. And he was a great singer. That was a real bonus.

"As I said, be patient with her. She'll come around." Jesse assured her. They reached the outside of her mother's office. The blinds were down but they could see Shelby's silhouette through them. She seemed to be gathering up the rest of her things. Which gave Jesse a few minutes for what he wanted. "And Sunshine won't be a problem. You're a great singer. She can't take what's meant for you."

"You're right," Rachel agreed. "You actually make a lot of sense. I'm not usually this insecure. Things have just been going so well and I don't want them to be ruined by something so petty. I should probably try befriending her."

"Yeah," Jesse nodded. He bit his lip and pulled out his phone. "Take down my number. In case you ever need anything."

"And what if I don't need anything?" Rachel challenged as she typed his number into her phone.

"Then text me anyway," Jesse answered. With a final wave, Jesse was on his way. Rachel's smile only widened as he turned to leave. She was definitely going to text him.

"Rach, what took you so long?" Shelby asked as she peeked her head out of her office door. "Why are you just standing out here?" At her daughter's expression, she looked further down the hallway to see Jesse St. James' retreating form. It was easy for her to put two and two together. She didn't know how to feel about Rachel and Jesse's recent interactions. It was clear that they liked each other. Jesse was a senior. A teenaged boy with raging hormones who, when the last time they saw him, was buying condoms. Rachel, on the other hand, was fourteen and not allowed to date. She had to quickly nip that in the bud.

Jesse was a good student. A great singer. Whether or not he was good for her daughter was the question.

"Oh, nothing." Rachel quickly turned to her. "I was just talking to Jesse about something. He's a really great listener."

"Right, " Shelby said. She wouldn't bring it up just yet. Not when Rachel had already seemed to be in a bad mood earlier. She knew which battles to fight. This was not one. At least not yet.

 **A/n: I have such great plans for this story and I really can't wait for y'all to read them.**


	6. Chapter 6

Small World

 **A/n: I always miss writing these characters so much. I hope you all enjoy =)**

Chapter 6

"No," Rachel moaned out into the stillness of her bedroom. Darkness surrounded her with only a sliver of light breaking in through her curtains. Her chest heaved violently. Her mumbling was unintelligible as she tossed and turned. Frown lines donned her forehead as Rachel tried to wake herself. "No," She moaned again this time kicking her covers away. With a violent shake, she was awake.

Blinking slowly, she tried to get her eyes to adjust to the lack of light. She could just barely make out her desk and chair on the other side of the room. Sitting up a bit more, Rachel tried to find her covers. Her breathing wasn't yet under control, but her chest felt tight. Almost like an asthma attack. She hadn't had one of those in years. With a groan, Rachel laid back against her pillows. These nightmares were becoming a common occurrence. It was always the same dream. A man, sometimes two men, were the perpetrators in these particular nightmares. They would hurt her, and yell at her, and scream at her. There was always dread and a sense of familiarity that accompanied these dreams. She felt small and helpless. When she was younger she could remember having the same dreams but they were never this vivid.

The thought that consumed her the most is that she didn't recognize either of them. She couldn't always make out the faces but she could always remember the eyes. One of the men had a pair of eyes that she couldn't get out of her head.

With a huff, Rachel turned over to reach for her phone. Her fingertips touched the cold surface of her nightstand; her phone just barely out of reach. She decided not to reach for it. If she so much as unlocked it she would be sucked into the soulless world of social media. With only three more hours until she had to be up for school, Rachel tried once again to fall asleep.

Only that was never easy for her after these nightmares. They always left her uneasy and a bit sad. She couldn't figure out why she was having them.

After what seemed like hours, Rachel slid from her bed and walked to her closet. She turned on the light in the search for her stepping stool. Pulling it to her desired spot, Rachel grimaced at the sound of her elbow hitting the wall. She hoped that no one could hear her outside of the closet. Grabbing an old and tattered shoe box, Rachel pulled it to the front of the shelf. Just what she needed. Closing her closet door, Rachel settled back against the wall. With a sigh, she lifted the lid of the box and gently set it aside.

This box held all her dearest memories. Rachel's favorite pictures of herself, old hair bows, her favorite old bear that she could never seem to remember the name of. Picking up a picture, Rachel smiled widely. It was a picture of her and Quinn at Christmas when they were eight. The Corcoran and Finley family decided on a joint Christmas that year. Rachel got to meet all of her in-laws and play with Quinn. Those were the good days when they would tell each other everything. Chucking that picture back into the box, there was another one from around the time Brooke was born. Rachel remembered being so excited to have a baby sister. Her parents had been married and started a family of their own soon after. Having a surrogate carry Brooke was hard for little Rachel to understand at the time, but she quickly took on the role of big sister. No matter how much the girl annoyed her now. The next picture startled Rachel just as it did every time she opened this box. It was a picture of her at three years old. It was one of the earliest pictures she'd had of herself. She was so tiny. Not that she'd grown much since then. She traced over the picture and her eyes fixated over the scar along her belly that was peeking out from her shirt. Lifting up her own shirt, she saw the same scar but fainter. Almost like a distant memory.

Sometimes that is what confused her the most. The scars, the nightmares, the lack of pictures. Her mom and dad told her bits and pieces of why she didn't have memories of them. She'd been living with her real dad up until the age of three. That's when things got a little blurry. Somewhere along the way, Rachel's father thought she would be better off with her mom. Shelby didn't talk about him much. Rachel never asked. She didn't need to. She didn't even remember the guy or what he looked like. Her real father was the man that took care of her every day for the last ten years.

Her father was the guy that taught her how to ride a bike, took her on ride alongs whenever he had the chance, he was the guy that was there for her whenever she needed him. Of course, Rachel thought about who her real dad was. It wouldn't make her human if she wasn't curious about him. Sometimes she would wonder if she looked like him. Did she get her eyes from him? What about her clumsiness? Did he sing too? He must have had a good reason for leaving her.

She didn't know a thing about him and yet she wanted to. Shelby did the best that she could explain their situation but still, she had felt like it wasn't enough. She wanted to know him. Maybe. That wasn't the reason she had come into the closet though. With a sigh and a shake of her head, Rachel dumped the pictures back into her box and reached under the miscellaneous items. Her childhood blanket, clean and dry all folded up. Taking it out, Rachel left the box to be dealt with tomorrow.

Settling into her pillows again, Rachel hoped that she would get an ounce of sleep at least one night this week. She tucked the blue fabric of her blanket under her chin. It was still comforting even after all these years. She would never admit that she sometimes still needed it. Now that she was comfortable she could sleep again.

* * *

Later that morning, Rachel was sleeping peacefully while the rest of the family got ready for their school day.

"Where's Rachel?" Shelby asked as sat at the head of the table. Breakfast had already been served and the two youngest Finley kids were already eating. She only received shrugs in return. "Derek, finish your eggs. I'll be back." Shelby found it weird that Rachel wasn't already down here being her usual peppy self.

"Rachel?" Shelby called out. She must have been still showering. Rachel didn't like to be late so this was indeed a strange situation. She checked the bathroom first only to find it empty. "Rach, come on sweetie, it's time for breakfast." Shelby lowered her voice when she entered Rachel's room. Rachel was still wrapped tightly in her baby blanket. One Shelby hadn't seen for years.

Sitting next to her on the bed, Shelby reminisced about the times Rachel was a little girl. How she would crawl into her arms with the very same baby blue blanket. For a moment, Shelby considered letting her sleep. This was Rachel she was thinking about though. The girl would never get over it if she ever missed a day of school.

"Rachel, baby, it's time to wake up." Shelby gently shook her awake. With a groan, Rachel burrowed deeper under the covers. "Rach, come on. Your food will be cold and you're gonna be late for school."

"Just five more minutes," Rachel mumbled. She was just so tired.

"No, unacceptable." Shelby stood. "Get up and get ready. If you miss school you can't attend Glee either."

With those words, Rachel was out of bed in a flash. She stumbled over her slippers beside her bed and cursed internally. Life was just not going her way this week. Shelby watched her daughter struggle to get ready that morning before going back downstairs to give her some privacy.

Twenty minutes passed before Rachel was dressed and ready for the day. Her hair was in a ponytail and she was dressed in sweats and a t-shirt. Clothes that were very not Rachel-like.

"Sweetie, what time did you go to sleep last night?" Shelby asked as she helped Derek with his shoes. She would have had them on by now if he stopped moving.

"I don't really know." Rachel shrugged."It's fine. I'm going to change into my other clothes in the bathroom at school. I just don't want to be late."

"Don't forget your Dad is picking you up for school today." Shelby followed her to the car.

Rachel nodded in response and climbed into the passenger seat. She wasn't up for talking this morning. If she was lucky Santana would bring her a tall iced mocha. Her mom didn't like her drinking coffee at a young age but she would need it today. Especially if she wanted to participate in glee after class.

* * *

"Hey, Short Stack," Santana set Rachel's iced coffee down in front of her. They were waiting for their first period to start. Dropping her bag next to her desk, Santana took her seat. She glanced around the classroom before looking over to Rachel. She looked terrible. "It's on the house. You look like you need it."

"I didn't sleep much last night." Rachel chugged the coffee down as if it were her last drink ever. "We should really use more eco-friendly straws."

"I'll remember that next time." Santana agreed. Truthfully she didn't want Rachel to go on one of her crazy rants. "So what's up with you? Don't tell me you're going all crazy on me too. First Quinn and now you? I don't think I could handle it."

"I'm fine Santana," Rachel assured her. "I haven't been sleeping well that's all."

"Has it been happening often?" Santana asked.

"No, it's been fine." Rachel lied. She couldn't tell her that she hadn't been sleeping because of nightmares. As much as Santana hated to admit it, she was a worrier. She worried about everything.

"Okay, let me know if there's anything I can do to help." Santana made her promise. " There's only enough room for one crazy friend."

"About that," Rachel began. Smoothing her hands out on her jeans, the ones she had changed into before class, Rachel turned to fully face Santana. She knew they could not go in depth with their conversation but she wanted to bring it to Santana's attention. "Do we have any idea what's wrong with Quinn?"

"Nope, Quinn is a goody two shoes. All of my ideas don't really fit her character."

"Same," Rachel sighed. The bell rung and their first-period teacher entered the room.

They'd have to talk about it later.

* * *

The rest of her school day had gone without any hiccups. The coffee had given Rachel the boost she needed to make it until Glee. Now, Mr. Schuster was going over what song they should sing at sectionals and he wanted everyone's input on the songs.

"I think we should do something that shows off all of our voices," Sunshine raised her hand. "Maybe we can lead with a group number and a couple of solos."

Rachel narrowed her eyes. Who died and made her Captain?

"That sounds like a great idea," Mr. Schuster nodded. He was appreciative of Sunshine's efforts to help. "Now, we're going to have to bring it if want to show these judges that we can be taken seriously. That means we're going to have to practice, practice, practice. I'm thinking we can sing an oldie but goodie. Journey?"

"I'm sorry Mr. Schue but could we at least sing something from this decade?" Rachel raised her hand. "What if none of us connect with the music? I do love Journey but I'd like to think it's a little outdated." Mercedes nodded in agreement.

"I don't know," Sunshine intervened. "I think Mr. Schue may be right. We don't have a lot of members. It may be easy for us to learn and get the steps down in no throw a couple of remixes in? My brother is a DJ. Well, he likes to think he is. I can get him to throw a mix together for us. I could bring it in Friday,"

"That sounds cool," Kurt spoke up. "It's always nice to try new things."

"Okay, that's settled." Mr. Schue clapped his hands together. "Why don't we all brainstorm a few of the songs you would want to hear. We can share our ideas in about fifteen minutes. The person with the best ideas gets to lead Friday's glee discussion. Maybe even sing a solo."

Rachel grabbed her notebook and sighed. She didn't like that Sunshine was becoming the "leader" of the group. It just didn't sit right with her. This year was supposed to be her year to sing and shine. With the rest of her group mates of course. She wasn't being irrational was she?

Rachel grabbed a pen from her back and began to write down her brainstorming ideas. If they were going to stick to the old school era, they could at least do it correctly. She'd been thinking of ideas for sectionals since Glee began. She finally had a chance to share those ideas.

"Hey Rachel, do you want to work together?" Sunshine asked her. "I think you would have some pretty good ideas and I have a few that I'd like to get your opinion on. I mean, you're our strongest singer. It would only be right." Pushing her glasses a little further up her nose, she glanced at the empty chair next to her.

Best foot forward Rachel.

"Sure, I think that would be great." Rachel flipped her hair behind her shoulders and situated herself. "What are you thinking?"

"So, I know that we talked about Journey," Sunshine began. "What if we did some sort of medley? Like Journey, and maybe something like The Clash? Or maybe mix it with a new school song? I don't have any specific songs in mind. I just can't figure it out quite yet. At least not on the fly."

"Ohh, I was sort of thinking of the same thing."Rachel nodded. "Don't worry, we're a team and I'm sure after everyone shares their ideas it will be just fine."

"Can I see your ideas?" Sunshines peeked over at Rachel's notebook. "That's only if you feel comfortable?"

"Oh, no, of course." Rachel smiled. Rachel handed her notebook to Sunshine and waited to see what she thought. Though she didn't like the girl that much didn't mean she couldn't like a little friendly competition. "I was thinking of starting off with Somebody to Love, then Don't Stop Believing, a mashup of some kind like Eye on the Tiger and Rolling in the Deep. Of course, I'd have to mix the two songs and make sure they sound good together."

"That sounds really good." Sunshine praised her and Rachel beamed right back at her.

"Let's develop your plan a little more," Rachel was eager to help. That was how they spent the rest of their class period. Brainstorming and laughing about simple little things. Besides being her competition, Rachel thought for a second that she and Sunshine could be friends.

"Okay, guys, let's hear what you got."

Tina raised her hand first. "I like the idea of Queen, they're pretty c-c-cool."

"I like the way you think." Mr. Schue smiled. "Anyone else?"

Before Rachel had the chance to raise her hand, Sunshine's hand shot up. Mr. Schue gestured for her to continue.

"Mr. Schue, I don't know much about setlist but I was thinking of something like Survivor and Adele. I think our voices would fit with the selection of that song along with Journey and Queen like Kurt mentioned earlier. What about a little of the Clash? End with some Whitney Houston maybe?"

"That sounds really interesting Sunshine," Mr. Schue applauded her. "I love that you're so into this Journey idea."

Rachel's jaw dropped to the floor as Sunshine explained her ideas. Rachel's ideas. The ones that she had come up with and presented to Sunshine mere minutes ago.

"Mr. Schue, those ideas were mine," Rachel spoke up. She didn't know what Sunshine's deal was but she was most definitely not going to let her slide. "I just gave those to her and I didn't think she would use them to prop herself up. It's absurd. She didn't even have any concrete ideas before we conversed."

"Is that true, Sunshine?" Mr. Schue folded his arms. He leaned against the piano to wait for Sunshine's answer.

"Yes," Sunshine hung her head in shame. "I thought since we were a team Rachel wouldn't mind allowing me to share her ideas. She didn't put them as eloquently so I thought I was helping her.

"What?" Rachel scoffed. She didn't put them eloquently? They were HER ideas. "If anything you dumbed them down into some old school party mix that doesn't mix well."

"Rachel, be nice." Mr. Schue warned her.

"I would have no qualms about that if Sunshine wasn't an idea stealing liar." Rachel huffed in her seat. "We can't be a team if one of our members isn't a team player."

"That's true," Mr. Schue nodded. "Sunshine I think you owe Rachel an apology."

"I'm sorry, Rachel," Sunshine looked over to her. She looked the least bit sorry. "Even if your ideas were dull before I spruced them up." She muttered the last part for only Rachel to hear.

What was her problem? Rachel had done absolutely nothing to this girl. If Sunshine Corazon wanted to play hardball, Rachel could play hardball.

* * *

After Glee, Rachel was still seething as she stuffed her things into her locker. Her dad would be there any minute and she needed to make sure she had everything.

"Rachel?"Quinn approached her friend. She was still in her cheer uniform. She looked absolutely tired and stressed.

"Quinn, hi." Rachel smiled over at her friend. It was the first time they had spoken in days. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, it's um, it's fine." Quinn nodded. She palmed the strap of her cheer bag. "I was just wondering if your parents would mind if I slept over tonight? I just," Quinn took a deep breath and looked down at her shoes. "It's my week with my dad and I really don't want to go there tonight. He wouldn't mind if I slept over with you."

"Sure, of course," Rachel pulled out her phone to text her mom. Trying to hide the excitement of having Quinn over, Rachel closed her locker. "Do you have your car? You could meet us at home"

"No, my parents decided that my driving privileges have been revoked for the near future." Quinn rolled her eyes. Rachel wanted to desperately ask why but she didn't want to scare Quinn away. "My dad will be here soon."

"Sounds good," Quinn silently followed Rachel to the school parking lot. They spotted his car immediately.

"Hey kiddo, hey baby girl." Joseph greeted his niece and daughter. "How was school?"

"It was good, daddy," Rachel answered his question first. She could tell Quinn wasn't in the mood to talk.

"Quinn, how are things?" Joseph directed his next question to her. "Your mom tells me she has some important news to talk about but she didn't want to discuss it over the phone. You have any idea what that's about?"

Rachel furrowed her brow and waited for Quinn's answer. Quinn simply shook her head.

"I don't know. It could be anything." Quinn directed her gaze out of the window purposely avoiding Rachel's. Something was up. That much was obvious.

"Well, I'll probably get around to that sometime this week," Joseph said. "Do you girls have any preferences on dinner tonight?"

"No,"

"Nope," They answered simultaneously. Both girls had way too much on their minds to converse with Joseph. Noticing that the girls seemed to be in their own worlds, he turned the radio up a little louder. The rest of their ride was silent except for the sounds of Rihanna blasting through the speakers.

To say that Quinn wasn't talking was an understatement. She had spent her time in the guest room with the door closed. She only came out for dinner where she put on a happy face. Rachel saw right through it and vowed to get Quinn to talk to her.

That brought her to this very moment as she waited outside of the room. She couldn't find any excuse to go in and talk to her cousin. Would Quinn be angry with her for constantly trying to go and talk to her? Would she continue to shut her out? She was about to find out.

Rachel raised her hands to knock before entering. "Can I come in?"

"It's your house," Quinn shrugged. She was surrounded by school books on the bed as she sat up against the headboard. Rachel climbed into bed with her and inspected the work.

"This looks tough," Rachel commented. Truthfully she was just buying time.

"Yeah," Quinn agreed. "That's not really what you want to ask me."

Rachel turned to meet Quinn's green eyes looking back at her.

"You can ask me you know?" Quinn goaded. "It's not like I'm going to be able to keep it to myself any longer."

"Quinn, what does that mean?" Rachel pushed the book away. "Did something happen? Did your dad hurt you? I mean, you've been so distant with all of us and we're worried that's all."

"I'm fine, truly," Quinn nodded. "There's just a lot going on. My dad didn't hurt me."

"So, what is it?"Rachel continued to ask. "If you're not sick there has to be a reason for your distance. We used to do everything together. You used to tell us everything. We never get to see you anymore."

"Rachel, it's so complicated." Quinn bit her lip. Unshed tears shined in her eyes. Blinking them back, she looked up to the ceiling to try and get herself together. "I don't want you or anyone else looking at me differently once I tell you. Because if I tell you that makes it real. I don't want it to be real."

Rachel tried to figure out what Quinn was talking about. Instead, she was drawing a blank.

"Quinn, I promise you. Whatever it is I won't look at you any differently. You're my best friend. There's nothing you could have done that would make me love you any less. I promise."

Quinn nodded her head. Wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, she avoided Rachel's gaze.

"Noah and I hung out a lot over the summer. I know you guys thought we were just getting to know each other towards the end, but we'd been sort of seeing each other for a while."

Rachel turned away so that they were both facing the door. She could tell this was going to be huge. Quinn didn't need her staring or her looks of pity. She could feel it in the pits of her stomach.

"We got really close," Quinn emphasized. "We had sex."

That caught Rachel's attention. Quinn had always talked about waiting until she found the right one. Noah must have really been special to her if she had gone that far with him. Rachel hadn't even kissed a boy yet so she couldn't imagine going that far with anyone. Especially not at her age. But with a straight face, she wasn't there to judge Quinn. She was there to be supportive.

"We were stupid. There were a few times that we didn't use protection." Quinn looked down at her hands. "My parents found out what we were doing and they grounded me. Took away my car. That was weeks ago. Then I began to feel sick. The beginning of the school year is when I felt it the most. I missed my period. Rachel, I- I'm pregnant."

There was a long silence as she tried to figure out the right words to say. She wasn't expecting such a heavy topic.

"How far along?" She asked first. That was a thing adults said right? Gosh, she wishes her mom was here to help. Shelby would know what to say. "Do your parents know?"

"8 weeks." Quinn frowned. "No, they don't know, they would kill me."

Rachel nodded. She understood that. Quinn was only sixteen years old. Her life wasn't supposed to be like this. They were just kids.

"Daddy's getting suspicious though," Quinn admitted. "I don't think he'll be too happy. At least with my mom, she'll be disappointed, but my dad will never want to talk to me again. I don't know what to do."

"Does Noah know?"

"He does," At that moment Quinn looked ten years older. "He's just as freaked as I am. His mom can barely take care of him and his little sister. I see how hard she works for them. A baby. It would just complicate things." Quinn felt a weight lift from her shoulders at being able to tell her best friend.

"Quinn, I'm sorry, I don't know what to say," Rachel confessed. She had never been in Quinn's position. There wasn't anything she could say that would make her feel better. "How do you feel about it?"

Quinn was surprised. In all of this, she hadn't thought about her own feelings. Since she'd found out about her pregnancy, she only thought about how her situation would affect others.

"Terrified." She whispered. "Worried. Like the world is crashing down on me."

Rachel simply listened.

"I mean I don't know anything about babies," Quinn cried. "The last baby I dealt with was Derek when we used to babysit and he hated me. He would cry all the time and he wouldn't settle down for anything or for anyone. I don't think I'll be a good mom. God, I'm such an idiot."

"Quinn, please, don't say that about yourself." Rachel pulled Quinn into her arms. "We'll figure it out. We'll figure it out together."

"Rachel, you have to promise not to tell Aunt Shelby or Uncle Joey." Quinn cried into her neck. "They're never going to let you hang out with me anymore. They're going to think I'm a bad influence."

"Quinn, I won't tell them," Rachel promised. She knew it was going to be hard but Quinn was going through enough of a rough time. Even though all Rachel wanted to do was crawl into her mother's arms herself. She was scared for Quinn. At fourteen years old, Rachel was giving Quinn comfort in the best way she knew how. "I promise I won't. And for what it's worth, they would never tell me to stop hanging out with you. I wouldn't allow it."

"Thanks, Rachel, I'm sorry about being so distant," Quinn whispered into her neck. The feeling of someone else holding her calmed her down. She felt safe in Rachel's arms. With everything going on in both of their lives they needed each other. That much was apparent.

"Don't mention it." Rachel shook her head. They lay silent for the rest of the night. The only noises were Quinn's infrequent sniffles. Quinn fell asleep first as Rachel lie awake for a little while after. What were they gonna do?

 **A/n: So I felt that the show didn't take Quinn's pregnancy as seriously as they could have. Not that Glee was a serious drama show to begin with. So currently I have three storylines in this one story that all tie in together. Quinn's pregnancy, Rachel's nightmares, and Leroy possibly being released in prison. They all tie in together one way or another and I'd love to hear your theories on how I'm going to bring them full circle. Who do you think will be the next person to find out about Quinn's pregnancy? I'm kind of thinking Shelby. That would be interesting, to say the least.**

-LSAM


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